Under My Skin
by Mystic Scripture
Summary: Savannah ran away from home fresh from high school. Her life was far from perfect, but she doesn't realize how far until Rick is in a Coma and the dead are reborn. Then after several months alone, she is greeted with a crossbow to tye face and sye is forced to face different demons altogether. Daryl/OC Slowburn.
1. Lost and Found

**~Summer, 2004~**

"There's no way in hell, I'm letting you throw your life away for that loser!"

Savannah's brother yelled, slamming his fist against her door frame to block her from leaving with her suitcase. With their father sick, and mother constantly working at the local dinner, they didn't realize what was happening, but he did. His bright, starry eyed little Savannah was leaving town, planning on doing it right before graduation or saying goodbye. Well he wasn't going to have it.

"Yeah well, sorry officer but you have no authority on the matter." She snapped, tossing her duffel out the window in response. "I love him, and he's gonna help me with my dream! Which is more than I can say about anyone else in this house."

"Oh, so your petty theivin' boyfriend who has been having you rebel against every rule in the goddamn book is gonna help you be a big time detective, huh?" He scoffed, thinking of the rap sheet he'd have on her had he been working on the force yet. "That's rich."

"We're being stupid teenagers, it's what you do in a small town. Besides, when we get to Atlanta, he's gonna work at his dad's firm, and support us while I go to school." She protested, letting out a huff of hair on her own. The suitcase made its way out the window next. Her hair was frizzing around her head, the blonde wisps against her pale skin contrasting against his darker tones. She glared at his uniform, holding a hand towards his belt. "So unless you're gonna cuff me to the bed. I'm going."

Before he had a chance to stop her, Savannah slipped out the window, her boyfriend's truck creaking under her weight. She scrambled into the passenger seat and told him drive, not looking twice at the town that she refused to be trapped in like everyone else she knew. Only once she couldn't see her house did she let go sigh. Wondering just what she was leaving in her wake.

 **~Summer, 2010~**

"Detective Walsh speaking, how may I help you?" The voice was more tired than the last time he'd heard it, and held a lot more experience. She still had her accent, the drawl leading you in with its sweet sound.

"Annie?" His voice shook, looking down at his bloodied hands that held the card he found in his friends wallet as they admitted him to the hospital. "It's me... it's Shane"

There was the slight sound of a muffled curse before her voice rang out, iron in barbs she threw. "Well hey there, Big Bro, due what do I owe the unwelcome surprise of you finding me?"

He was silent for a second, looking down at his hands as he slumped against the hospital wall. How could he tell her? That there Mom was gone? That their father was a drunk who rotted away as he waited in denial for his little girl to come home? It had been six years, there were so many reasons for him to call, but the one right now had him scared for them both.

"Well are you gonna grow a pair and tell me, or are you just gonna breath in my ear?" She snapped, her ignorance providing more pain than bliss at the moment. "You called me, remember, so I shouldn't be-"

"Rick got shot and is in a coma, Savannah Marie!" He burst out causing a few people around him to jump. Letting out a groan he tried to calmly explain the situation."We...we were at a shootout with two suspects and there was a third one that dispatch didn't know about and…"

He trailed off as she whispered out a choked sob. She sighed, running a hand through her hair, or so he imagined. "Look Rick's got you, he's got Lori and Carl….he'll pull through."

"Yeah, yeah he will." Shane sniffed, not convinced, and hurt that she sounded so confident in where Rick's life stood. "Course I knew that, but I keep thinking about how I lost you, and now if I lose him-"

"You didn't lose me Shane." She cut him off, plowing past her own guilt. "I just had some growing up to do. Unfortunately, it took me going off grid to realize it."

The line was silent again they both struggled for words. Four years of regret and resentment resting on their shoulders. Finally, he cleared his throat, knowing he was going to be out of minutes soon.

"Yeah well...now that you have, don't be a stranger."

Savannah held the phone to her ear not sure what to say, as he rambled off his number, writing it down more out of habit than anything. After, when she still couldn't find anything, she put the phone on the receiver. Running her hands down her face.

 **~Two Weeks into the Outbreak~**

"How is he doing?" The question seemed lame, given all they needed to talk about, but she had to at least pretend that she was still doing this for Rick.

Rick who had been there for her growing up. Rick who had been a brother when she pushed hers away. Rick who kept her connected to her small home town no matter how far away she ran from it. Rick: the one who helped her keep tabs on Shane so that she didn't have to worry about him as much. The one who never judged her for her decisions, and who she really wished was on the other end of the phone right now.

"He's the same." Shane said, clearing his throat, knowing none of these things. "Still no sign of him waking yet...but, he's stable."

"Shane, is Rick coming with the Medevac that I just got a call about?" She felt her voice break slightly. "Is he coming to Atlanta?"

"Just barely, but yeah, gonna take Lori and Carl up myself." She tried to picture what was happening around him from the muffled noises around him. "Just with whatever's goin' on right now, we're lucky he was admitted before."

She sighed, thinking about the carnage she helped clean up this morning. "I know, the same has been happening here. Hospital was just cleared late last night, had to sent a team to clean it up. Anybody showing symptoms is shot at the door now."

"Jesus Sav-"

"Part of the job, so what did you want to tell me about Rick?"

"Right, of course business as usual...just like you ta-"

"Shane..." She warned, irritated.

"Right, Right...Just, make sure he doesn't wake up alone, alright? We can't go on the copter with him, and Carl doesn't want his dad to be scared."

At the mention of the young boy, her anger diminished, a pang in her chest as she thought of him being there. "Yeah, yeah of course. You tell him that I'll be by his daddy's side from the second he lands, the minute you guys get here. He's in good hands."

"Thanks, Annie." Shane murmured, a sigh of relief rolling off him. "I don't know what we would do if you weren't there."

"Well, let's just save the conversation on the pros and cons of me leaving home for a time where people can prevent it, shall we?" She laughed awkwardly, pulling at a loose thread of her jacket. "We have a lot to talk about."

"That we do, but Sav?"

"Yeah, Shane."

"You make sure you make so we can have it, okay?"

She paused, the phone shaking in her hand. "You-You too, Shane..." She said, hanging up before she said anything she'd regret.

 **~Evac Day~**

"God Damn it, John! Where's my medevac? I've been waiting at the hospital for an hour!"

"Walsh, you're brother's town. They sent the helicopter, but-"

"But what, John. Stop dancing around the questions."

"It was overrun. Nobody got out..." Savannah's anger left her as she dropped the phone with a clank. She couldn't even remember how she got on the floor, but the receiver swung next to her head, the voice on the other side fading and growing louder every couple of seconds.

"Deputy Walsh?" Silence "Savannah?"

"No..." she whispered, her voice shaking in disbelief.

"SAV? God damn it, Sav talk to me!" John yelled, but she ignored him, still in shock.

"Rick...Lori….Carl….." Then, as if she hadn't been wondering about when he was gonna call her back, it hit her. "Shane…"

 **~Three Months Ago~**

 **Savannah's POV**

"Shit, Shit, Double Shit!!"

I thundered through the twelfth precinct's hall, letting a few rounds loose behind me, only knowing from a few tell-tale thuds that they even hit anything. I kept my breath steady as I ran, looking for a way to escape this crazy nightmare-turned-reality chasing me. The sheriff was down, and all of my men were falling as powerless as I was to stop all of the people- or what used to be people- attacking the building as I tried to make my way through. I wouldn't be able to shoot them all down, nor could I properly shoot them now. The only way I could make myself was to not look and hope I wasn't wasting precious ammo. They were friends, family, men and women who were being released. Sure some of them were in lock-up, but the bars kept them at a safe distance from everyone else. They were trapped food that these things got to first.

Ever since that rash of fevers broke out across the state, or the nation, hell maybe even the world, people were dying only to come back as some undead remnants from one of the stupid first shooter video game my ex used to obsess over. It was all too surreal at first, the hospital going into lockdown, the shootings of anyone who portrayed symptoms. But right now, with our proximity to the hospital, the station was getting the brunt of the attack, and it made everything all the more real. It started off as a normal shift when suddenly I was forced to watch my men were getting attacked and eaten by the very people whose lives they swore to serve and protect.

I pumped my legs forward, making a list of things I would need in my mind. They couldn't move that fast, so I had an advantage as I headed to my office. Upon reaching my roommate's desk, I was able to dispatch a few more of them and grab the walkies, car keys, and the keys to the weapons cage. The next step required me to use my baton to force my way through the door, which was a slight snag, since I had forgotten to think about the bottleneck effect my door would create. However, thanks to the knife at my side I was able to make quick work of them, grateful that weren't very many following me. Moving to the cage a few minutes later, I grabbed five different handguns, a couple of silencers and as much ammo as I could carry. I grabbed a shotgun, more for who I was with since my proficiency laid with handguns.The only thing left to do was to get to the garage, meet up with my partner, amscray and make it back home to see if my family had managed to survive. Ever since I had gotten the call about Rick's town-my hometown-I had things packed in both of our cars ready to leave at a minutes notice. Forcing myself to focus, I moved to the garage. Little did I know what I was to find.

John was lying on the floor, the dead banging on the door leading outside. There were a few more coming behind me, as I threw mine shut, dropping to where he was. He was pretty bad, his neck was torn, and he had bites along his arms. He must have come inside through the door and that was why so many were after him. I pulled him into my lap, and ripping the bottom of his shirt to make a wrap for his neck. There was no way he was going to survive, but I needed to give him his best shot. Just as I held the fabric up to wrap it, he lifted an arm up, pausing my movement.

"No...You'll need an out." He rasped, pointing to the doors and how weak they were getting under the unrelenting forces. "I'll c-cover you."

"Don't be an idiot." I snapped, wrapping his arm as he gasped in my arms. "You're getting out of here with me, and that's an order."

I tied the shirt tight, careful that it wasn't choking him at the same time and pulled him up. The door crashed open with the dead pouring around us. I took a few shots, and tried to drag John with me, his body getting more and more limp with each passing step. He shot behind me as I shot in front, but when we got to my car, he stumbled, making us fall against the side of it. He was fading fast and he wasn't letting me help him. I grit my teeth as I forced him up into a sitting position next to me, keeping watch as they moved towards us among the other cars.

"John, don't you dare do this to me." I warned, noticing the light fading from the older man's eyes, "We are going to get out of here together; I owe you at least that much."

He laughed humorless, his breaths growing shallow as he weakly clasped my shoulder, "Get out of here, Rookie. You owe yourself that much. Find your family. Survive: I know you can.." I opened my mouth to protest, but he shook his head, letting out a few barking coughs, "You're running out of time, don't let your stubbornness get you killed." He gave me a small small as I searched his body for some way to save him. "Go."

I sat there powerlessly as his hand slipped off of my shoulder and he let out one last breath. I shook him slightly, trying to get him to stay away, but his eyes went blank and he stopped fighting. Stopped doing everything altogether. I ran a hand through my hair, not sure what to do with him, but not having the luxury of time. They were moving closer to me, their moans and groans faint against the blood pounding in my ears. After a few more seconds I didn't have, I steeled myself and did what needed to be done. Getting into my car, I pulled forward, crashing the garage door door on a bunch of the bastards as they swarmed around my partner's body and tore into his still warm flesh. I drove away, fighting the urge to go back and kill them all, and left my home in search of a place I thought I'd never return to.

 **~Now~**

The fat from my most recent hunting trip sizzled on the grate I'd made from broken parts of my Coleman stove, half of John's camping supplies having been lost or scrapped for important bits with the need to travel as lightly as possible. My Camping backpack wasn't exactly light, but with the car breaking down months ago, I'd been starting to leave things behind, dismantling anything that could be used against me. I had about a week's worth of MRE's left and the rabbit would last me a couple of days. The main issue right now was water, and I ran out of filters for my water bottle, and there was a limited supply of purification tablets to begin with. The bulkiest part of my bag was all the weapons I had and even then, they were cut in half due to a run in with a small group about a month ago. It was ended amicably enough given that I threatened their leader with a bullet to the head and a knife to the gonads simultaneously.

The past months had been quiet, but bearable. I was doing what I want when and where I wanted to and no one told me what to do about it. I was camping and enjoying the outdoors by myself for the first time in years, and there was no stench of the city around me. Everything was clear and I could practice my survival whenever I wanted. Not that the hypothetical and mechanical motions could ever replace the hands on, application of practical use, but it would do for now. There was a moving base camp that I could leave in the morning to go for a run and wash myself and laundry at the stream. Overall, this whole fiasco was a much needed wake up call to unplug from the world and enjoy nature around us. Though I highly doubtful that anyone thought that outside of my twisted mind.

There was a rustling from behind me, making me reach for my shotgun as I became more aware of my surrounding again. It was a louder weapon and not really necessary since this area had been clear, and there weren't any of the undead nearby to hear it. The only reason I had the thing was the movement was working opposite the afternoon breeze and it sounded bigger than the occasional squirrel or rabbit that would wander over here. Even still, maybe it was a deer and I'd be able to cure meat for a few weeks. It quieted suddenly, a faint intake of breath barely heard. I squared my shoulder, and spun around, pointing the gun in front of me only to be met by the sight of a crossbow being aimed towards my forehead. I stood stock still, not wanting to give in, or allow an opening to be shot.

The man in question was thin, all lean muscles under the tattered, sleeveless t-shirt he had on. He had dark brown hair that was shaggy, but trimmed so that it fell close to his head, with these calculatingly piercing blue eyes. Everything about him screamed hunter, redneck, a natural. He had clearly been doing thing a lot longer than when society crashed. He was taking me in at the same time, neither of us saying a word as we aimed our weapons at each other. Finally, he spoke, his deep voice the first I'd heard in weeks.

"You gonna lower yer weapon?" It came out a lot more like a demand, making me bristle, shifting my gun towards his crossbow.

"I'll lower mine, if you lower yours."

My voice was a lot deeper than I remembered it being, my throat not accustomed to being used outside of breathing and eating lately, but I didn't let that show. There was no telling what he thought was going on with my small campsite around the tiny fire with my slowly burning rabbit popping next to me. If this standoff made me waste away a week's hunt, I'd be pissed. I watched as he shifted his gaze between the weapons and me, as if considering what to do. After a little bit, he nodded, and we lowered our weapons in a synchronized, drop of the forearms. We still stood a few feet from each other, sizing up whatever we were. I took in the crossbow and, upon noticing the fletchings on his bolts, let out a small, humorless laugh.

I held an arm up towards the weapon, explaining the sentiment to him when he tilted his head in an agitated show of confusion. "You've been the one hitting my squirrels. Got a 'coon from me once or twice too."

"Ain't mah fault you're too slow to catch 'em." He snapped, looking to the grill behind me. "You're terrible at cookin' too. That rabbit you've got there is burnin'."

I set my jaw, his voice and accent getting on my nerves, "I can cook, just fine, thank you." I backed up to be next to the cooking meat with a scowl. "You just have bad timing and I would rather eat some burnt rodent than have a bolt through the forehead. Last I checked, you don't really walk away from those."

He let out a short humph while I pulled the rabbit onto my mess kit with my multi tool. I looked toward him and swore softly, cursing my own moral code and grabbing the bowl from the kit as well. As I picked at some of the charred bits, I held it out toward him with half of the semi-burned meat. He eyed it for a few seconds, looking at me like I was crazy. Which, I may have been, this man just tried to kill me and now I'm sharing what sparse food I had. Finally, after watching me take a bite from what I'd offered, he accepted it. As if I would waste good poison on some redneck hunter anyway.

"You know, you're lucky I don't have the immunity to or the possession of Iocane Powder." I mumbled, taking another bite of the succulent meat. "You'd have most definitely lost the battle of wits."

"What the hell are you yammering about?" I snorted, looking at the poised food from his frozen stance as he looked at me strangely.

"Nothing...sorry, I haven't really talked to anyone since, well all this shit went down. I'm not exactly good at social interaction anymore. And I forget we all have different literary backgrounds."

He gave me a look, but didn't say anything as we finished the rabbit and I killed the fire. The thick humidity and Georgian heat wasn't very welcoming, so the added heat needed to go. Or at least that's what I told myself as I went through my pack afterwards as well, avoiding the gaze of the hunter. Really, it was just that my statement was more accurate than I cared to admit. I'd spent so much time isolated from society and wasn't sure what to do about it. He clearly wasn't much of a talker either, which didn't force me to assimilate back into anything. After finally having enough of his constant observation of my movements, I cleared my throat, pointing towards the woods with a befuddled expression.

"So uh….you alone, or do you have a group waiting for you to bring back dinner or something?" I hedged, trying to hint that he was overstaying his welcome, what little there was of it.

"Got a group." He shrugged. "Been trackin' a deer I injured a few miles back. Saw your fire and figured you mighta seen it."

I looked around the woods, thinking back to if there were other disturbances to my silent solitude today. "Sorry, can't say that I have." I hoisted my now lighter pack onto my shoulders, scattering the discarded materials around with my foot. "But thanks for providing the first company I've had in while. If you'll excuse me, I have some miles to cover and a camp to make before it gets too dark. I've stayed too close to the city for too long."

"You seriously been living out here all by yourself, girl?"

The question made me stop, my back having been turned to him for the first time since he'd showed up. Whipping around, I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm twenty-six years old, not some little high school girl." He was standing now, as he started to head back towards the woods where he came from. "And if you must know, yes, I've been by myself since the things went to shit in the city."

"Why don't you help me hunt some venison and you can have a bit?" He pointed to the scattered remnants of my fire. "Least I could do after you shared your meal."

"You wanted to shoot me not five minutes ago, and now you want me to trust you to work together on a hunt?"

"Never said I trust you, but at least this way I can keep an eye on you. Make sure you don't follow me back camp to try and steal from us." I raised an eyebrow at him skeptically making him grow angry. "And you were the one that showed the kindness first! So are ye comin' or not?"

I shrugged, adjusting the bag to properly rest on the hip straps and off of my bag. "Don't know how much use I'll be with this on my back, but sure. 'S not like I've got anywhere better to go."

He nodded slowly, turning abruptly to pick up the crossbow and making his way around the path he'd shown up from, not even paying attention to whether or not I followed. With a shake of my head, I followed him down the road, moving as slowly and quietly as I could with the bag, my knife in one hand and my pistol with a silencer in the holster on my side. We walked quietly for a long time, his weapon poised wherever he walked, just as my stance was ready with the knife. It wasn't until it got dark that I spoke, the woods growing harder to navigate.

I looked to see if he was showing any signs of stopping and shook my head. He would probably keep walking all night and into the morning if he could. His focus was steady and locked onto the signs of the animal around him. A bit of blood on the shrubs, some hoof prints in the ground and the nature of the impressions. I would probably stop and he wouldn't even notice. I took off my bag silently when we reached a clearing big enough for my tent and started to look for firewood, tightening the ponytail that I pulled my hair into earlier today. My luck wasn't as good as I thought though, since he had stopped and was looking back at me impatiently. Looking side to side, I snuck up to him so that I could make up an excuse for my escape attempt.

"Look, I hate to be a burden, I really do…" I said, my voice low when I caught up to him. "But I think we're gonna want to set up camp for the night. We won't be any good if we find the thing after straining our eyes all night looking for it."

"Tracks are pretty good...should catch up should catch up to it in a day or two anyway." He muttered, setting off to get wood for a small fire while I set up my tent.

We worked in silence for a while, the fire low so that we could see what we were doing, but be able to alert anyone or thing to where we were. I set up the inside of the tent to have my sleeping bag as well as a blanket, folding up a sweater for my own pillow and placing the small one I had with the blanket. I got out, and sat across from him at the fire. Neither of us spoke still, our legs cross and rests resting on our knees. The dying embers popped and snapped until there was nearly nothing left and still nothing was said. Finally, I cleared my throat, pushing myself up.

"There's a pillow and a blanket that you can use, if you decide you want some sleep." I pointed to my watch, "This goes off in a couple of hours and I'll take the next watch."

I walked towards the tent, pausing when I heard him call out a soft, "Wait."

I turned, raising an eyebrow at him, for what felt like the hundredth time today, "Yeah?"

"What should I call you?" His wording was strange, but there was a genuine curiosity in his voice.

"You mean other than 'Girl'?" I scoffed. He gave no reply and I moved on. "I'm Savannah, but most people call me Sav...what about you?" He sat there for a moment not replying so I sighed, and turned towards the tent, "Or not, that's cool too."

I had just finished closing the mesh window of the tent when I heard a soft murmur from coming outside.

"Daryl…." It said, "My name is Daryl."

I awoke to the small beeping noise that emitted from my watch, a couple days later, quickly shutting it off so as to not wake my company. He wasn't quite as much of a morning person as myself, and I tended to work better getting my things done when he was still sleeping anyway. I quickly packed up my things and grabbed my bottle of three in one cleaner, a change of clothing, and a towel. There was a stream nearby and I desperately needed to wash away the past few days' humidity. Stretching out of the tent, I placed a silencer-equipped desert eagle in the back of my pants and sheathed a machete to my thigh. Glancing around our surroundings, I looked for any signs of our prey. It was about day three of following this supposed deer and we hadn't been stopping until dark. So far, all we've seen are its tracks as we got closer to and closer and closer to Daryl's encampment.

Washing quickly, I checked a few of the snare's we'd set up last night and grabbed several squirrels, and a rabbit that I figured would make for a decent breakfast. I had just finished skinning and gutting the rodent and started making it into a stew with some water I'd purified from the stream and one of my last bouyon cubes. I added a pack of dried vegetables from my pack and stirred, thinking back to the way my family always teased me that I camped a little too fancy for them. My dad always said that I wasn't one to survive when I camped, but more of one to experience. If only he could see me now that the world had gone to shit and I made my own way through the state. Shaking my head to clear away the memories, I left the stew to simmer and went to go wake up Daryl as had been our routine the past few days.

Instead, I found him already placing his folded blanket and pillow onto my pack, his crossbow slung onto his back. He gave me a brief nod, and headed out, leaving me to place the items in my pack and toss it out, working on taking down camp. While I did this, he took over cooking, sipping occasionally from the water canteen I'd lent him and filled before my morning bath. Once I was done, we ate, cleaned up, killed the fire, and were off. We found that it was easy to work like this; silently and swiftly. There was a separation of force along with the cooperation between us, allowing for each to do what we specialized in without getting in the other's way. Though I had only known him for a few days, it was clear that we made a hell of a team. Maybe it would help when I made my pitch to his group; having two hunters with a larger group would increase survival rates, and keep Daryl insured when he went out for food.

After a few more hours, we could hear hushed voices getting louder the more we followed the trail of blood Daryl and I spotted a few yards back. There weren't many of them talking, but after hearing some feminine shrieks earlier, I'm guessing it was more than the two or three masculine voices we could hear now. I looked to Daryl warily, moving to pull out my machete only for him to hold out a steadying hand and break through the bushes. Taking a breath, I realized that we probably reached his group.

I hung back slightly, not quite ready to meet them. I still didn't know if Daryl trusted me or if I was willing to join a group of people in a world where we could all die at any time. As if sensing it, he turned towards me and nodded, inviting me to join him."

"Okay," I whispered to myself. "Time to renter what's left of society I guess."


	2. Family Values

Deciding that things would be easier if I didn't have too much on me, I pushed my bag off my shoulders, resulting in a snapped branch. Daryl took no notice of it, but as I looked around the pile of rocks next to us, I saw at least five figures with weapons pointed at us. I frowned, turning and indicating for him to go first. He did, moving around the pile of rocks we were behind, resulting in sighs and scoffs from the others, weapons dropped. They only saw Daryl, and after the welcome he just got, I intended to keep it that way. Peeking between the rocks, I stayed as far away from the group as possible, but kept an eye on Daryl. He let out a huff as he pushed himself up to the clearing.

"Son of a Bitch." He muttered, pointing to the gnawed-up mass before us, "That's _my_ deer _!_ "

I followed his gaze in an attempt to see it, but I could only to make out the bolts sticking up from it's flank and a headless corpse next to it. I quietly stuck to the treeline, trying to take advantage of everyone's distraction to slowly introduce myself to this group, which seemed bigger than I initially anticipated. Going relatively unnoticed by the others as they cleared a path for Daryl, was able to get a better look from a different vantage point. Though, with the ease that Daryl came up to it, I was able to hear what happened instead, his anger evident in his voice.

"Look at it. All gnawed up by this…" He starts to kick at the headless corpse for emphasis. "Filthy" **kick** "Disease-bearing" **kick** "Poxy" **Kick** "Bastard."

He took a step back, mingling with the others, but still towards me, something told me that he was only with that group for convenience and not companionship. The older man from before spoke up, poorly trying to disguise his patronizing comment with what was meant to be a calming tone.

"Calm down, son." he intoned, as if this were a totally normal situation and he was scolding a child "That's not helping."

Lean muscles tightened in anger as the 'son' in question stalked forward and into his face, "What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to "On Golden Pond"?"

Whatever laughter or mirth that was going to sneak onto my face-given that the guy really _did_ look like one of the characters from one of my mom's favorite movies- fell away as I thought about what I wouldn't give to watch it with her again. Daryl meanwhile was bending towards the deer, his back to the others as he took in the sight of me still hiding.

"Been tracking this deer for miles." He started, pulling out his various bolts, and nodding towards my hiding spot. "Ran into somebody and we were gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison."

I glared at him for a moment, but something in his tone and eyes stopped me. He wasn't expecting them to have noticed that part, he didn't think they were paying any real attention to him. He was the outsider making a scene after who knows what just happened did. I was an unknown factor, but he was testing the waters to see how open to it they'd be. They must have all banded together early, and didn't exactly go out looking for other survivors or I would have been found weeks ago. With all of this in mind, my only choice was to trust Daryl, which I did; not that I could say why.

Instead of dwelling on that, I prepared myself for whatever he had up his sleeve, or lack thereof, as a way to introduce myself to this group. I knew he wasn't stupid, but who knows what they thought of him. The world may have changed but I doubt people did all that much. I snapped back to attention as he continued talking to the others, our silent conversation done and alerting no one.

"What do you think?" He gestured to where the undead had been eating at it before he looked back to the others, "Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?"

Any sort of logistical plan flew out the window when I looked at the figure with his arms looped around his gun speak, his voice shaking me to my core. Standing there, next to the old man and with Rick close behind him, was my brother, shaking his head and looking towards the group.

"I would _not_ risk that."

Before I could stop myself, I'd walked forward, snapping several branches under my feet. Rick and some kid with a baseball bat turned towards me muscles taut with alarm. The kid kept said stance, ready to whack at me if I did anything. I didn't care though, my eyes were on the ghosts of my past, one of them gesturing to the other to look.

"Shane? Rick?" I hated the tremble in my voice, I'd been good at hiding how much I missed them in our conversations before the world went to hell, but being face to face was entirely different. Before anything else could happen I heard the thud of a weapon being dropped and was enveloped in a muggy hug that involved four arms wrapped around me.

"Sav." Rick murmured, nearly covering my brother's "Anne."

I felt my eyes flutter shut for a brief moment as I took in my family being alive. Then just as suddenly, I was pushing them away, not only due to the heat, but also in anger. Turning to my left, I clenched a fist and swung hard into Rick's shoulder. He stumbled a little, looking at me in confusion, as well as a little fear.

" _That_ , was for giving my card to him before I was ready." I scolded, pushing myself towards him as the group looked on in hushed confusion. Not that I could blame them, i was just all shaky voiced and hugging them, the next I'm beating one of them up. Rick was even confused for a moment, searching my face to gauge what I was going to do next. My face remained stoney, and I didn't give away anything until I wrapped my arms tight around his neck, burying my nose into his shoulder. I let go almost as quickly as I latched on, giving him a small smile as I wiped away the one tear that had slipped past the gates. His face was already twisted with quilt, but I barrelled on, trying to get the emotional parts of this done with. The less you feel in this world, the safer you were.

"And _that_ is for being alive to yell at you." Almost robotically, I turned to address my brother, but Baseball Bat finally dropped his stance, and said what most of the group was probably thinking.

"Who the _hell_ are you?" He pointed his bat vaguely towards Daryl. "And what are you doing with _him._ "

I raised an eyebrow at him, my eyes set on him now as I went to move. I didn't like the implications there, but Shane intercepted before I could do anything, grabbing my shoulder and spinning me to address the group as a whole.

"This is Savannah Walsh: my little sister, may as well be Rick's family too." His eyes swept across everyone in sight, "Y'all do best to make her feel welcome after whatever she went through out there."

"Oh, stop with the dramatics." I shrugged his arm off, feeling the intensity of the glances sent my way burning more than the sun. "I'm sure my actions with Rick have them properly aware of the familiarity we have with each other."

"Though he was being an ass about it, Shane's right. We shouldn't risk eating any of that." I slipped back over to Daryl, who was still looking at the Deer, having ignored most of the exchange as he tried to find a way to contradict my brother. "It may be just at the throat, but we don't know how this infection spreads and if it's carried by eating diseased meat."

"You didn't mention any family, least of all Sheriff Dickwad." He muttered, disappointment and betrayal etched equally in his face. I opened my mouth to say something, but he straightened up as he turned to the others, the comment not meant as a conversation starter.

"That's a damn shame. Well, we got some squirrel… about a dozen or so." He muttered, shifting the rope we'd strung them on higher up on his shoulder, "That'll have to do."

I watched as my brother looked to the group in a way that doubted my companion's intentions, furthering my theory on why Daryl even thought it was safe to let it slip that he wasn't alone in the first place. I shook my head, Shane, as always, assumed the worst in people, and followed closely Daryl as he made his way back to camp. That is, until the head started to move.

Desiccating flesh moved in a poor imitation of life, the jaw working itself open and letting out moans and grunts from a non-existent voice box. Realizing that they hadn't finished it off, I went for my knife but was distracted by a couple of women off to the side. They had been standing by a single tree and its surrounding foliage, not joining the men, but closer than the rest. My gaze swept towards them in curiosity only to find them looking downward in horror and disgust.

"Oh, _God._ "

The younger one groaned out, her facial features twisting along with her stomach, or so I could assume. The other woman led her by the arm, moving them away from the scene, consoling her with an arm wrapped around the girl's shoulders. I found myself rolling my eyes while I saw the crossbow move to be positioned for shooting.

"Come on, people, what the hell?" Daryl shot it through the eye, promptly killing it for good and stepped on it to yank the bolt. "It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothin'?"

I let out a short chuckle, covering it by wiping at my face with the back of my hand. The girls had left off towards camp with the few kids I could make out, but the men were stalking after the two of us, mostly keeping an eye on Daryl. He started to yell, calling for his brother that he'd mentioned to me only in passing.

"Merle! _Merle_!"

I didn't make out anybody answering him, and most of the women were steering clear of him, leaning against the RV. I let out a huff of air, saddened at the truth about people stagnating in prejudice even at the end of the world. I leaned on the side of the jeep I recognized as Shane's to observe, still not sure what to do. I could feel a couple people hovering next to me, not wanting to take their eyes off me, but not wanting to insult my brother by being obvious about it. I ignored it, keeping my eyes on Daryl as he looked for his family.

"Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel!" He placed his crossbow down at the fire pit, looking around the camp, "Let's stew 'em up."

Shane's voice sounded behind him and I watched as he moved forward, caution in his stance, "Daryl, just slow up a bit." He looked between the two of us. "I want to thank you for bringing Savannah here, but first I need to talk to you."

He nodded, and I moved up towards them again, planting myself between the two and to the side. "Bout what?"

"About Merle. There was a…" Shane answered walking along the broadside of Daryl, and placing his hands on his hips, "There was a problem in Atlanta."

I wanted to call him, or any of them really, out for treating him like he was a caged animal that needed to be handled, but couldn't since Daryl's face had shifted. What they were saying couldn't be true, could it? I could make out the conflict in his face, and feebly brushed a hand next to his fingertips, but he pulled away. I bit my lip as he looked around at everyone then down to the ground, his figure poised for whatever he was going to hear as he looked up, "He dead?"

A sigh, "We're not sure."

Daryl's face twisted in anger as he approached Shane, "He either _is_ or he _ain't_!"

Before things could escalate, Rick interrupted. I felt my lips quirk up, he was always quick to diffuse any situation the other man started.

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it."

As he approached Daryl, I noticed the confusion in the hunter's face. "Who are _you_?"

I tilted my head as my childhood friend gave his name. Did that mean he wasn't here when Daryl left? Was he like me and just ambling on his own? I mean to be fair, last I heard he was in a _coma_ , so that was less surprising _._ Who knows how he shook that when everything crashed. But if he was out there alone, and Shane was so close; why didn't they come to find me? And why did it hurt so damn much to know that now?

I contemplated whether or not I should just cut the cord and run for it again. I left my pack behind the rocks we emerged from, so I could just run and grab that. Head off to wherever I needed to go in order to survive. Last time I checked a radio, D.C. still sounded good. But then I'd be leaving Daryl, and a bunch of families with my past... _my_ family. None of them knew what I did about them, and who knows when my brother will turn on them too.

" _Rick Grimes_ ," Daryl sneered looking toward him with contempt and snapping me from my thoughts, "You got something you wanna tell me?"

"Your brother was a danger to us all," Rick stated calmly, looking at the other man evenly, "So I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal." He paused for a second, letting it sink in. "He's still there."

Daryl held up a hand, spinning his finger around his temple, pacing as he absorbed this. "Hold on. Let me process this. I found some long lost family of yours, and-" He gestured towards me before walking away to retrace his steps slightly looking back at Rick with contempt. "The thanks I get is you saying you handcuffed my brother to a _roof_ and you _left him_ there?!

Rick nodded, his voice even, "Yeah."

I moved forward as Daryl tossed his squirrel string at him, moving to attack Rick as he ducked. I paused as Shane tackled him and pushed him down. He pulled out his machete and I follow suit, more as a defense against any of their stupidity, but making the girls around me gasp scandalously all the same. Meanwhile a large, darker skinned man that wasn't by the deer incident dropped a pile of firewood, calling and out to watch out for the knife, or maybe he called out for both, but I wasn't paying attention because Daryl had taken an angry lunge at Rick only for it to be dodged with a deft weave and he shot his hand out towards him. When he grabbed one arm, Shane took the other, quickly disarming him before his partner took him into a chokehold, making me rush forward.

Shane was mocking him during the whole exchange saying, "Okay, Okay." In a taunting mantra. God it was no different from high school when he would respond to bullies with _more_ bullying.

Daryl clearly didn't like this, and kept moving to get himself into a position that would help him break Shane's hold on him. "You'd best let me go!" He grit out with a growl, my fingers twitching as I resheathed my knife, and struggled to help, but not make things worse.

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't." He said, as I got closer to them, Jerking his shoulders to maneuver Daryl below him

He grunted, slipping towards the ground, "Chokehold's illegal."

"You can file a complaint." Shane stated, holding him still towards the ground, "Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day."

Just as Rick crouched down, I sheathed my machete and shoved him to the ground, making him and Shane suddenly remember I was there. I positioned myself between Rick and Daryl, not liking how they were playing this out. I knew I was also a cop and expected to help them take him down. But he wasn't a criminal and he was right, they had thrown away the rulebook. This man had taken me with him to join a group that had forgotten about how everything worked. Crossing my arms, I looked back and forth from them, ignoring all the looks of shock on everyone's face; especially theirs.

"Look at the two of you knuckleheads!" I shouted, holding a hand out towards Daryl, "The world goes to shit and you decide that police brutality is no longer something you have to worry about? All he did was react to you telling him you left his brother on a rooftop to die. How would you react to some stranger telling you that? If it were me that had been strung up somewhere while you were gone? But you didn't stop to think like that, instead you guys tag teamed him as if this were the WWE."

"Savannah... _"_ Rick shook his head in disbelief, getting up to look at me. "You don't really think that's what we're doin' do you?"

"I _know_ what I just _watched_ you guys do to him. I don't need the interpretive meanings behind it all. " I pulled my hair away from my face. "Just let him go. Maybe try _talking_ to him instead of reacting to his violence with more of it."

Though everyone still seemed a bit shell-shocked, Rick nodded crouching back down. "I'd like to do what Savannah said and have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?" Daryl let out a few struggled breaths making Rick turn his head to look at him better, "Do you think we can manage that?"

Shane tore his gaze from me to look down at Daryl, "Hmm?" After there was silence he nodded looking to Rick, "Mmm. Yeah."

He dropped Daryl down and I moved to check his throat for any signs of future bruising as the other two stepped back looking like they were at an interrogation instead of telling a man about why his brother was left behind. I could feel my brother staring at me like there was a kid holding a magnifying glass towards my back in the sun, burning into the base of my neck. Ignoring it, I crouched back as Rick approached, staying next to Daryl.

"What I did was not on a whim." Daryl didn't look at him, just kept panting for breath, "Your brother does _not_ work and _play_ well with others."

"It's not Rick's fault." The darker man from before spoke up, making the three of us look to where he was. "I had the key. I dropped it."

Daryl shook his head, "You couldn't pick it up?"

"I mean…" I nodded, adding, "If it's as simple that...wouldn't that be the simple solution over abandonment?"

"Well _gee,_ mystery girl, why didn't _I_ think if that?" He snapped sarcastically, looking to Daryl as I helped him up and followed him to where he started walking. He tossed some grass that was stuck to his shirt on the ground, glaring at the other man. "Oh yeah; because I dropped it in a drain."

"If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't." Daryl retorted and kept walking, but was stopped by the response, making me take in all of the people just staring at what was going on. Didn't they have anything better to do like laundry or skinning those squirrels? Something to avoid straight up gawking at the situation?

"Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof…" The man got no response, so he gestured a little, trying to illustrate his point. "So the geeks couldn't get at him, with a padlock."

Rick came up next to me, looking at Daryl, "It's gotta count for something."

I looked at Daryl and was shocked to see him break a little. In the past few days I hadn't thought he was capable of it. He wiped angrily at his face and glared at everyone, throwing his hand toward them.

"Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is," He demanded, his voice cracking slightly with emotion, "so's I can go get him."

Then came a new voice into the fold, sending chills down my spine, "He'll show you."

I whipped around to see Lori Grimes leaning next to an RV, her hand on the inside of the door as she kept her eyes on Rick, looking at him expectantly. "Isn't that right?"

With her insistence, we all turned to Rick who nodded. Though judging by the look on his face it was something that Lori didn't previously support of, but now that it worked in her favor to manipulate him she did. I scowled as the man who deserved better in my opinion announced to everyone that. "I'm going back."

With that, Lori went into the RV, almost if in a huff over her husband failing some test that only she knew the parameters of and Daryl took off past him. Biting my lip, I watched were Daryl went and turned to follow him only to feel a firm hand wrap around my wrist and pull me back. Turning I came face to face with Shane, and the man from before. Though after getting a look from my brother, he left. Letting out a humorless laugh, I jerked myself out of his grip with a defiant tsk. Folding my arms in front of my chest in a guarded stance, glancing at him expectantly.

"What the hell are you _doing_ Annie?" He growled, flying right into it and pointing off toward Daryl. "No sign of you for _months_ , making me think you had died only to have you come waltzing in here with and then defending _Dixon_? What happened to you out there, did you go stupid or something?"

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you to stop calling me that before it sticks, but don't you think we have more important things to do than getting into a sibling squabble?" I glanced around at the people that were still staring at us, and then back toward where I saw Daryl stalk off. "Save it for after we get Daryl's Brother back; We both owe him that much."

"And you think I'm gonna just allow you to go back to Atlanta with them?" He growled, stepping in front of my path. "You must be out of your goddamn mind."

"Last I checked, Shane you were my brother, not _Dad_." I snarled, my hand instinctively clenching in frustration. "Which means once I became an adult, hell even before then unless you were babysitting; you never really had the right _to_ allow me to do something or not."

Stalking off, I followed my fellow hunter to a secluded tent that he emerged from when I arrived. He had a few more bolts in his crossbow but otherwise it seemed like he left more for the sake of walking it off than anything.

"I'm sorry about them." I said, rubbing at my face as I tried to mend what little rapport we had. "Shane is always acting first and thinking later."

"I ain't a stranger to your brother's arrogance, Girl." He said, glancing over at me as if looking to him. "Jus' wasn't expectin' him to have help this time."

"Yeah, Rick tends to have to clean up Shane's messes." I admitted, resting my hands on my hips. "I know it doesn't make it better, but I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my family. As you can see I don't exactly get along with Sheriff Dickwad like you and Merle do, or so I'm guessing. But I _am_ going to help you get your family back."

He didn't reply, outside of a nod and the slight twitch of the lip when I called Shane by the name he'd used earlier. After a few minutes, I sighed, giving an excuse of going to get my pack. This had me turning back towards camp, where I could observe the group of twenty to thirty people. I didn't say anything to anyone, and ignored all the glances and muttered questions around me. I was halfway towards getting my pack when I heard a youthful voice call out my name. Turning, I smiled, and fell to my knees to catch the boy that threw himself into my arms. My shoulders shook slightly as I realized just how much I'd missed of the kid I thought of as my nephew's life. He was getting big, and looked so innocent; freckles dotting his face as he looked at me with baby blues that could make an angel cry.

" _Carl_." I whispered, holding him tighter. "Oh Carl, I'm so glad you're okay."

"What about you Auntie Sav?" He pushed himself back but only so he could look at me better. "When you weren't with Dad-" His lip trembled, and I felt the heat from his face as he got ready to cry.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Cowboy." I assured him, my voice soft, and breaking slightly at the sight. "I'm here now, and I'm never gonna disappear on you again, promise."

"But you're going back to the city with them, aren't you." Not a question, a statement, an accusation.

"Just to help Daryl get his family, then I'm right back here." I took his shoulders in my hands, and stood up. "There and right back, you hear me?"

"You mean you're gonna help him like he helped you?" He rubbed at his tearful eyes, looking at me with a gut wrenching expression. "Since he brought you back to us?"

"That's exactly right, Bud." I smiled, pulling him into another hug. "Then, good _luck_ getting rid of your Auntie, huh?"

He laughed, and Lori called out for him, making him run back. The two of us shared a glance, both knowing the other's opinion, and turned away without a word. I went to get my pack, and brought it back across camp to the main area, not sure where to put it just yet. Pulling some must haves into a smaller bag for the trip, I tucked away what little guns and ammo I had left. Then, I headed back towards the bubbled field of shrubs and tents to meet up with whoever else was going.

I paused when I saw Shane, waiting for Rick who exited his tent with his uniform on. I smiled, the thing always fit like a second skin on him, always meant to be a cop. Shane, well Shane was just along for the ride and following his baby sister and best friend.

"So, that's it, huh?" He spoke up, his voice meant as an insult to Rick's decision. "You're just gonna walk off? Just to hell with everybody else?"

"I'm not saying to hell with anybody." He answered, adjusting his shirt and gesturing for me to follow. "Not to you, Shane; Lori least of all."

"He's just fixing his wrongs and returning the favor." I added, "If you weren't high off your power trip, you'd be doing the same."

"I resent that, and you better tell her that then, Rick." Shane followed, making us both pause as Rick glanced back at him. I don't know what was going on between the three of them, it had always been a mess, but clearly however briefly Rick had been here, he'd already wound himself in the doghouse and Shane knew it.

"She knows," he sighed, walking back towards the RV.

"If she didn't want him doing it, she shouldn't have trapped him into it like she did." I grumbled, walking with my brother as he followed.

"Well, look,I-I don't, okay, Rick?" Shane struggled, ignoring my comment, and focusing on his friend. "So could you just… Could you throw me a bone here, man? Hell, I'll take it from either of you at this point. Could you just tell me why?"

I rolled my eyes, finding Daryl at the fire near my things. I stood there, and watched as my brother floundered with the show of good faith we were giving a member of his group.

"Why would you risk your life for a douchebag like Merle Dixon?"

Daryl Stalked over there, with me moving between the two. "Hey, choose your words more carefully."

Shane looked him in the eye, pushing my arm out of his face. "No, I did. Douchebag's what I meant. _Merle Dixon_." He scoffed, "The guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst."

"That's not the point here-" I started, but luckily Rick had had enough of being talked at and to.

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst… _me_. Thirst and exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap." He shook his head, "That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being."

At this point Lori had joined the conversation, because why wouldn't she; always gotta put her two cents where it wasn't wanted. "So, you, Savvy here, and Daryl. That's your big plan?"

I tensed at the nickname she'd mocked me with for years, squaring my jaw. Looking to where she sat with Carl at the fire, I felt furious as she cast a contemptuous look towards someone that has been one of their own for as long as I'd been alone. The thought twisted in my stomach as I wondered if she got a kick off feeling better than everyone, even her husband. I would have come up with something to say, but was distracted by Baseball Bat letting out a disgruntled,

"Oh, come _on_."

I didn't turn my gaze away, but listened as Rick reasoned with him. "You know the way. You've been there before."

I sighed, sitting next to Carl as he watched the exchange, knowing that he was starting to get worried. I nodded towards Daryl, still trying to reconnect, but he wasn't watching, taking a rag to his bolts. I decided to keep an ear out, but focus on him, since both of his parents were occupied, and with the kind of stuff they were talking about, it was too scary for a kid. I didn't fully snap out of it until I heard Shane get riled up.

"It's not just five of you. You're putting every single one of us at risk. You know that, Rick." He snapped, making me look up, to see the group starting to cluster around the discussion. Fantastic: we got ourselves a group of rubberneckers. "Come on man, you saw that walker. It was _here_. In camp. They're moving out of the cities, and if-if they're coming back, we're gonna need every able body we've got here to protect the camp."

I knew that this was more of a posturing thing than anything, ready to call him out one it, but Rick was able to deflect it without my help. "Seems to me that you really need here are more guns."

I felt Carl shudder slightly on my arm, as a couple of comments were made about the cage from back home being left in Atlanta. I rubbed away the chill, offering a small smile in return. "It's okay, Bud, it's to keep everyone here safe, I promise. I won't let anyone or any _thing_ hurt you."

He didn't really answer, turning as his mom's voice cut through the dialogue. "You went through _hell_ to find us." She stared him down, and I bit my tongue to keep from saying anything. This wasn't my fight at the moment, I was just following Daryl. "You just got here, and you're gonna turn around and leave?"

"That's not it and you know it." I said throwing my previous thought to the wind and standing up to look down at her. "We are doing this so that _everyone_ in this group can have their family. So that we can _protect_ that family."

Carl tugged at my arm, holding me but looking at his dad. "Dad...Auntie, I don't want you to go."

"I…" I kneeled down. "Buddy we just talked about this. I need to help Daryl like he helped me to find you, right?"

"But why do you both have to go? Can't one of you stay here?" He stubbornly stuck out his lip towards me, trying to tune out all of the yelling around him. "I don't want you both to leave me again."

"Hey, hey, hey." I lifted his lowered chin to look straight into those cornflower blues. " _Neither_ of us are leaving you, you understand me? We will be back in just a day or two. You had your mom and Shane for months, you can manage a few more days for me, right, Sport?"

"No." He shook his head, looking over at the adults, then back to me. I knew he was seeing the past repeat itself. "What if it gets like before? When we would skype because they were fighting. I just got him back, I don't wanna have that again."

I closed my eyes and sucked my lips inward. I would see Daryl out of the corner of my eye looking over at us, as well as a couple of people that heard the confession. Taking a gulp of air, I met his gaze, trying to send all of my confidence into my voice. I didn't get a chance to say anything though, because Rick was standing across from us, and looking at a now standing Lori. It was Shane was another woman I heard first though, the older of the two sisters.

"So use the CB. What's wrong with that?"

Shane shook his head from where he was sitting on the front fender of his jeep. "It's the walkies that suck to crap-"

"You mean the ones that have been at the station that we used to play with as kids?" The men nodded. "Hell, those things were old _then."_

Rick nodded to me, as if thanking me for comforting his son as well as paying attention enough to back him up. Then he looked to Lori, the intensity of his gaze no longer leaving room for discussion. "I need that bag. Okay?"

She sighed, side-eying me with her kid, then back to him. "All right." She whispered, clearly tired of the fight she started.

Rick moved on over to us, settling next to me as he looked at Carl. "Okay?" He asked, trying to gain confidence from him. After a moment's pause, the boy nodded reluctantly. Releasing a breath I didn't realize I was holding, gave Rick's shoulder a squeeze, smiling at him in congratulations. That's not right; it was a smile that encouraged him to fight against Lori and talk to his kid. To let _Carl_ decide what he wants by hearing both sides of the story. He may not have _wanted_ for us to go, but he knew we _needed_ to.

Rick looked at me for a second and nodded, standing up. "Just need to gather up a few things, and we can head out. Why don't you stick with Glenn; he can introduce you to everyone."

"Why would you do that if I'm leaving and can wait until we come back?" I arched an eyebrow at him, tilting my head behind me. "I already know Daryl, and it's _his brother_ we're getting. If I need a babysitter put me with him, hell I'd have even tolerated Shane or Lori."

Two shades of blue turned on me, a look of shock on their owner's faces. I didn't fight Rick, and I _especially_ didn't swear around Carl. Or at least the old me didn't. The one that would sneak tickets to Rick's family to visit her for dinner and a movie, or would surprise Carl on his birthday after being warned that Shane was gone. This me? Post Living Dead World me? This me wasn't going to be walked all over by anyone ever again. Especially people I loved. I made that mistake before, I wasn't about to again.

Neither of them said anything, but Daryl appeared next to me, letting out a muttered, "I can show her 'round...but I ain't waitin' all day to get Merle."

Rick's eyes passed slowly over to Daryl, than back to me a couple of times while Carl shrugged, and gave me a quick squeeze before calling out for a Sophia. I stood, giving out a victorious smirk before walking off, Daryl trailing at my side. He soon got ahead of me, showing me the basic layout of the encampment, speaking only to answer questions. We only really did this for a few minutes before Baseball Bat wandered over to the moving van, and Daryl jumped into the trunk, his body vibrating in anticipation as I climbed in after him.

Sitting down, I thought about what I'd gone through so far today. I had found my family, fought my family, and was now helping Daryl to find his in spite of my family. Granted, there was more to it than that, but was jumped out of it by Daryl's foot meeting the cab horn on the steering wheel in a few bursts. I looked over to where he was glaring at Rick and Snark Dude who had gotten a pair of bolt cutters.

"Come on, _let's go_!"

As I saw Shane moving forward to talk to Rick and cleared my throat to get Dixon's attention, I shifted, making room for our fifth, and offering a handshake. "Savannah, most people call me Sav or Anne."

"T-Dog." He nodded, accepting my hand. "Sorry for earlier, just not one of my finest moments. "Driver there is Glenn, he's our runner for basically everything in the city."

"And a reluctant participant every single time." He sighed, turning briefly so he could give me a half-hearted wave.

I smirked lightly, watching Daryl shut the van, Rick slamming the passenger seat after he joined us. "With great power comes great responsibility, my man."

"I know that one," Daryl sighed, sitting down next to me as Glenn put the car into gear. "Spiderman. You ain't as original as you think."

"I never claimed otherwise." I shrugged, noting how close he had positioned himself, taking care in us not touching, but asserting some sort of claim on me. "This mean you're talking to me again?"

"We'll see, Girl," he grumbled, avoiding glances from me and T-Dog. "We'll see."

I nodded biting my lip before letting out a scoff. "Okay, well, it's about an hour to Atlanta; I'm gonna talk to someone who can give me more than a 'Maybe'."Pushing myself up, I draped myself over the back of Rick's seat. He was smirking, which had me confused. Sharing a look with Glenn who just shrugged, I took the bait. "I miss something?"

"You still have terrible taste in men," He chuckled, "It's refreshingly familiar."

I felt my face heat up, quickly looking behind me to see if the other two had heard that. Glenn was a lost cause, but at least I could nip it in the bud there. I slapped him upside the head, letting out a hiss.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" I felt my tense shoulders relax as Glenn turned onto the highway, T-Dog and Daryl grumble as they were tossed to the side. "First of all, I don't want to hear it from you, Second, I've barely known the guy a week, which is longer than you have, remember. So, I don't know what you're trying to imply, but I don't like it. Besides, One guy doesn't make for all of my taste."

"Right sorry." He nodded, trying to look serious, but failing. He did have the decency to keep the conversation hushed though."Cuz Daniel was the only bad one. The other two, giving way to three, were perfect."

"Teddy Pratt was on a dare so he doesn't count, and Connor Sweeney was only one date!" I argued, not even sure what I was trying to defend at this point. "And one you and Shane _never_ let me forget about."

"Well, he did try to sneak into your room after said date and you were sixteen." Glenn's eyebrows arched at that, giving more fuel to Rick's fire. "Tried to climb the side of the house only to end up in Grace and Will's room."

"It didn't tell _me_ he was sneaking in!" I huffed, moving to sit down next to Daryl again. "I would have warned him my parents took the easiest room to sneak into to save Me from boys or keep Shane from sneaking out to some girl's house."

"You guys lived in a white ass, country town didn't you?" T-Dog said, having only heard my last comment, or so he lead me to believe. "That's the kinda shit our parents would test us with while sitting on the porch smokin'."

I watched Daryl open his mouth, and held my arm out. "Don't say anything close to what I'm afraid your going to say."

His eyes slipped towards me with narrowed eyes, but upon seeing how serious I was, scoffed, and shifted away from me ever so slightly. "Whatever, wasn't gonna say nuthin'."

"Sure, and T-dog let his parents think he passed that test every night." I looked over to him, "I'm guessing you 'let' them catch you once in a while so they didn't get suspicious?"

"Told tell me you were a cop too." He said, a smile stretching across his face as confirmation. "That's not gonna make things good for me. One I could handle, two was an annoyance, but three? A man's gonna run after he's stuck with three cops."

I slumped against the van wall with a smile. "Don't start none, won't be none. I'm a probable cause kinda girl."

"Unless your name is Lori." Rick said, "Then she just hates her completely and totally. Pretty sure she threatened to arrest her for starting a fight at one of Carl's little league games."

There were a cluster of chuckles from Rick's comment, but otherwise the rest of the car ride was filled with silence.

We hit a couple of bumps as Glenn took us onto the train tracks getting closer to the city. I chewed on the inside of my cheek while I thought about Rick said, taking in the sights as I did. There was no way I was feeling something for Daryl, was there? Besides, how could I trust it if I was? He was the first person I'd seen in months, and I probably would have trusted him the way I do if he was a woman too, right? I couldn't gain an answer for that question though, since we were all pulled to a stop, the van jerking with inertia after Glenn parked it.

"He better be okay." Daryl insisted, from his position wrapped around his crossbow. "Tha's my only word on the matter."

"I told you," T-Dog started up again. the geeks can't get at him. The only thing that's gonna get through that door is us."

"Besides, if you're any indication I bet he's tough as nails," I said, elbowing him lightly before standing to stretch. "What's with the sudden stop, Baseball Bat?"

"You know my name, you don't have to call me by my weapon." He mumbled, "And we walk from here."

I jumped as Daryl jolted upward, yanking up the back door while the two in the cap came around to us. "Time to see what's become of home, I guess."

We went through the fence moving quickly through the eerily quiet streets. Glenn lead us to a small, but portion of the fence, rolling it back so that we could get inside. Rick went first, followed by me, Daryl, then T-dog and Glenn. Checking the silencer on my gun, I slipped it into my holster, double checking my knife as well. We all stood together as Rick decided to formulate a plan.

"Merle first or guns?"

"Merle!" Daryl and I said at the same time, him continuing with "We ain't even having this conversation."

" _We are._ " Rick glanced to Glenn as we all started to move again, "You know the geography. it's your call."

"Merle's closest." Came the simple answer, sounding heavily burdened. "The guns would mean doubling back. Merle first."

"Not to mention he's the main reason we all came here, and the guns were secondary." I hissed, looking around for any signs of walking corpses. "But hey, boys and their toys, huh?"

I was cast an unamused look from the rest of the party, which made the walk to the building Merle was trapped on slightly awkward.

Rick took point, while Glenn stayed right behind him, Daryl and I looking upward and out from the middle as T-Dog took the rear. I thought I'd been prepared to see the carcass of the home I'd made away from my childhood, but I wasn't. Storefronts destroyed and broken like history pictures of Kristallnacht far as the eye could see. Death and decay evident all over, clinging to the air. This wasn't my home, it was a tomb. One that I'd escaped from just in time, it would seem, as we all ducked at every groan we heard, and avoided streets that were littered with remnants.

Finally, after what felt like a whole day's travel, we made it into a department store. Rick had Glenn stay back as he scoped the place out. We all trailed behind him slowly, fanning out so that we were still behind him. A single one of the dead was in the store, her hair limp and her dress and jacket covered in grime and gore. Rick motioned for Daryl to move around and take it out, but I followed, just to be safe that there weren't others hiding amongst the various racks of clothing.

"Damn," he muttered, pointing his crossbow at the forehead. "You are one _ugly_ skank."

"And it isn't the dress." I added before following the bolt and grabbing a bunch of denim jackets from the rack. I turned when I realized that they were all starring. "What? You guys _do realize_ how durable this stuff is, right? Might as well stock up now before it gets too cold. Also, they can't bite through it. The flannels are good too."

Daryl walked toward me, pulling a bag from one of the racks on his way to get his bolt. "You come with to go shopping or to help me get Merle?"

"Multitasking, Dixon." I smiled, shoving as much as I could fit into the bag. "Multitasking."

Tucking the bag somewhere I could easily get it after our rescue, I followed the men up the stairs, providing cover in the back. We went up several floors, the hallways empty, and only lit from the daylight that was passing through the door at the top. Soon we were paused, and I pushed myself past T-Dog to get onto the roof with Daryl. There was no telling what he'd find, and with the yelling of his brother's name, I think he knew that too.

Keeping my knife poised, I turned the corner, following layout of the roof before I stopped. I froze, as I looked at what I'd found, causing Daryl to bump into me and toss me to the ground. Sitting up, I reached out, trying to warn him.

"Daryl _don't-"_ I grit out, despite knowing I was too late.

" _NO!"_ Daryl sobbed, pacing as he looked to the ground, "No, no!"

Laying on the ground at the pipe he'd been changed to, sat Merle's hand with a bloodied saw and the handcuffs swinging in the wind.


	3. Adios Vatos

I pulled myself upward, ignoring the boys as Daryl reacted. Instead, I moved to the hand, taking a look at the blood splatter, and clues that were around the scene. I pulled a blue Handkerchief out of my day back, laying to the side so she could continue observing. Also, because I was damn sure that Daryl wouldn't leave without grabbing it. Not that there was any way for him to reattach it, I don't think any of us are doctors, and it's a whole hand against a single finger.

"I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs." Daryl said, picking up the hand and causing her to jump. "Ain't that a bitch."

"Yeah, but this isn't nearly as spread out as it could have been." I said, pointing to the cloth for him, and then to the smaller pool of blood. "No way was this from him just hacking at it."

"Yeah, well, he wasn't all that stupid." Daryl said, insulted at a nonexistent implication as he stood up, holding the wrapped hand and making his way to Glenn, who paled.

I tapped his leg before he got too far, "Daryl why don't you just give it me, I'll hold on to it."

He looked between me and the other man, letting out a scoff as he saw the look on Glenn's face. He held it out to me, watching as I took it and placed it in my bag without hesitation. I zipped up my bag and looked at the others, Glenn was giving me a thankful expression while T-Dog looked slightly disturbed. The only one who didn't react was Rick, but he seemed on edge from something else that I probably missed when I was surveying the scene.

"He must have used a tourniquet…" Daryl stated, returning to my comment as I stood, slinging the bag on a shoulder. "Maybe his belt. Be much more blood if he didn't."

"Not bad for a civvy." I joked, earning a breath of laughter from Rick as I pointed to the trail of droplets. "Looks like he didn't wrap it right away either; left you something to follow."

Daryl gave me a look at my comment, but didn't say anything, following it across the roof instead. I turned to the boys raising an eyebrow as they all held a secret conversation. Rick, sighing, nodded to them, and I turned to follow instead of waiting. Not sure what we were going to find, I made sure to pull my bowie knife out of the sheath, holding it high. We all let him take the lead, giving him enough space to breathe. We reach a door on the other side of the roof, and go in, the room opening to an electrical storage area.

Rick grabbed my arm as Daryl started to call for his brother, his crossbow raised as he took in our surroundings. "How long have you known Daryl for? Do you think he can handle whatever we find?"

"I've known him only a few days, three or four at most? I've been on my own for a long time, but even when we had a chance to kill each other, neither of us pulled the trigger." I looked to where he was going, and back at the boys. "And he had plenty of other opportunities on the way to camp, so, if you're asking me if I _trust_ him, then yes, I do."

I pulled away, leaving them to their own ends, and rejoined Daryl at the bottom of stairs. Feeling that it was a little too quiet, I pulled out my pistol, and braced both weapons in front of me. Daryl kept moving, not waiting on the others either, crouching low while I gave him backup from behind. The blood was getting fainter now, probably because Merle thought to stop the bleeding once he was out of imminent danger, but there was enough to follow into a hallway that revealed a maze of offices. When the others caught up, I signaled to Rick to take one side with the boys while Daryl and I took the other.

"You know," I started, making my way through one room to give full coverage. "I'm kinda interested to meet this guy. Dude cut off his own hand and kept moving; that's pretty badass."

"Tha's Merle for ya." Daryl muttered, eyes on the doors as we continued to check them. "Badass, can't play well with others and probably drugged out of his mind."

I nodded, driving my knife into the skull of a seated corpse. It wasn't moving, but I didn't see any other head trauma and didn't trust it after the woods. I shrugged when Daryl raised an eyebrow at me and kept moving. I wanted to explore the subject, since it seemed the Dixons had a complicated relationship, but something in his tone told me not to push it. I was still on thin ice from Shane, I didn't need to get too nosy out of nowhere. So, we fell back into our forest rhythm, silent and cooperative. Daryl kept an eye out for tracks while I kept an eye out for bogeys.

When we reached one office, there was a figure standing our first stander was there, spinning right into the crossbow bolt Daryl shot into it, walking out to meet up with the others. I looked at the face, wondering why her face was stretched that way. At what point in the decaying process did they come back? And at what point is a corpse too dead to reanimate? I shook my head, following them to the main office at the end of the floor. All of us checked to ensure the room was clear before addressing the sight on the floor.

"Had enough in him to take out these two sumbitches." Daryl pointed to the bodies on the floor, their cranial impacts evident from a struggle. "One handed."

He looked to me and I nodded my appreciation. "Like I said…badass."

"Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother." He grunted, resting his crossbow on the floor to notch a new bolt. Nodding to the wrench on the floor. "Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails."

I bit back a laugh as Rick moves forward, taking the lead. "Any man can pass out from blood loss." He looked at me as if I should know better. "No matter how tough he is."

"Aight, so hurry up then." Daryl lifted his crossbow, pulling up front again. "What're y'all waitin for?"

This time I did laugh, getting looks from the others. Walking backwards I looked to them with a shrug. I wasn't going to say anything, but then Rick gave me a look, much like the one he gave me in the truck. Rolling my eyes, I whispered a hushed demand for him to _shut up_ before heading back towards Daryl. I followed him down some stairs, leading us to a different floor. This one was a bit more closed off, though, less offices, and more of a service hallway. I let him get head about halfway up, stopping Rick as the they all caught up. I motioned for them to keep going,

"Look, tease me all you want, but this is about him finding his family." I stated, pointing down the hall. "Why do you have to keep shutting him down every time he has a little bit of hope, huh? I think he's handling things pretty fucking well for someone who may find his brother dead after all of this. You should sympathize, not antagonize."

I watched the friend fight against the officer, his face shifting slightly in thought. I stuck my gun back into its holster, and re-sheathed the knife, crossing my arms at him. I knew he needed a moment, but I pushed forward.

"Put yourself in his shoes, Rick." I insisted. "From that little chat we had with Shane, I'm guessing you only just reunited yourself, am I right?"

"I woke up at home in the hospital." He admitted. "Made my way here on my own."

"Which means the thoughts going through his right now?" I tapped his temple lightly. "Probably going through Daryl's. Hell, knew it went through mine the past few months, why else would I be leaving the city toward home?"

I sighed, pinching my nose before turning away. "Just, stop copying my brother's power trip and go back to being Officer Friendly, okay?"

I pushed past the others, finding Daryl had paused as well, looking at me with a look crossed between being impressed and being annoyed. I shoo

k my head, moving past him at this point, and down the next flight of stairs, kicking the door open to vent out my frustration. The blood kept going this way, leading us down another service hallway, ending it what looked to be a kitchen and dining area. I stopped, waiting for the others and catching my breath.

Rick had moved up next to Daryl, but it was clear neither of them had said anything. I let them pass me, moving to walk next Glenn for a spell. I was thankful that he didn't seem to want to question me, or Daryl, instead she just softly thanked me aloud for taking the hand, and for not freaking out like the other girls would have. I nodded, biting back to urge to make an edgy 'I'm not like other girls' remark, jumping when Daryl's voice called out for Merle.

The two had paused at the entrance to the kitchen, doing a preliminary check before going in.

"We're not along here." Rick said, earning a kick in the shin from me. "Hmm…well we aren't, remember?"

"Screw that." Daryl huffed, pointing at the trail. "He could be bleeding out. You said so yourself."

We moved in, the smell of burned skin and gasoline filling my nostrils. I swallowed back the bile that built up in the back of my throat, taking in the sight of the stove. There were cans everywhere, blood streaks around where Merle had looked for things to help him. The stove was still on, a patty press sitting next to a discarded belt on the griddle. Not wanting to hear about how the poor bastard cauterized his own hand, I pushed on, ensuring the whole room was secure.

They come upon a kitchen where a stove is still lighted. They find Merle's belt sitting on the top of it.

"He's lost a lot of blood." Rick said, probably to something Daryl said again. I turned to try and break them up again but saw broken window, calling them over.

"Yeah?" Daryl responded to both of us. I pointed to the window, and he grinned. "Didn't stop him from busting out of this death trap."

"He left the building?" Glenn questioned as Rick looked out the window to look down the fire escape for any sign of him.

"Seems like the logical thing to me." I stated, "better to go outside than to keep hoping to foolishly think his luck so far would hold up."

Glenn shook his head, not understanding the logic. "Why the hell would he do that?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Daryl challenged, his aggravation evident in his tone. "He's out there alone as far as he knows, doing what he's got to do. Surviving."

"You call _that_ surviving?" T-God pointed to the stove and the bloody window. "Just wandering out in the streets, maybe passing out? What are his odds out there?"

"No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks." The boys looked down, as if they'd forgotten how we got in this situation. Daryl moved up to Rick. "You couldn't kill him. Ain't so worried about some dumb dead bastard."

Rick nodded, "What about 1,000 dead dumb bastards? Different story?"

" _Rick."_ I grit out, pushing the two boys aside. "What does that have to do with anything? We've been lucky so far; he's been even more so."

"Why don't you take a tally?" Daryl scoffed, pushing around me. "Do what you want. I'm gonna go get him."

He turned to move with me, but Rick had caught him by the shirt, the other two boys looking like they'd reached the end of their rope.

"Daryl, Wait." But the younger man wouldn't listen, pushing away the hand that was stopping him.

"Get your hands off me! You can't stop me." He snarled, nodding towards me. "Why does she seem to the be only one understanding me?"

"You're right, your angry and I don't blame you." Rick sighed, looking at me as if to tell me I won. "He's family and I get that. I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly how you feel."

"I didn't even think I would ever find mine." I admitted, "And I have you to thank for that."

"But," Rick started, giving me a look. "He can't get far with that injury. We could help you check a few blocks around but only if we keep a level head."

The two stared at each other for a moment, Daryl trying to see if Rick was trying to trick him. His eyes flicked to mine, and I gave a small nod. This was what I was trying to do all day. They needed to get on the same page instead of spitting fire at each other. Daryl let out a breath, nodding before looking back at the other man.

"I could do that."

"How's that sound to you boys?" I said, bringing the rest of the group into it. "That good?"

"Only if we get those guns first." T-Dog admitted, holding his hand up to defend himself before anyone said anything. "I'm not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, okay?"

Glenn nodded, agreeing and I sighed, knowing I couldn't argue with it at this point. Our mission got a little more complicated and we needed to protect ourselves. The three of them knew better than Daryl and me what we were dealing with in the city. Giving in, I looked to the other two again, Rick seemed to think it was fair, but I could see Daryl was hesitating. I scratched at the back of my head, wrinkling my nose at the sweat that was building up. Even inside it was hot, without the AC running.

"They're right…" I admitted, the words tasting bitter in my mouth. "We don't know how far he got, and if he got in trouble, we need to be able to help him."

He gulped, his shoulders slumping slightly as he nodded. "A'ight, where are they?"

Glenn and Rick looked at each other, looking out the window to place where we were. T-Dog dropped the tool bag he'd picked up on the roof, breathing heavily. Figuring we should get a drink to keep up our strength, I went into the kitchen and looked through the different fridges. Most of the fresh stuff was well gone, the dairy fridge making my stomach lurch almost as bad as Merle's burnt skin. Holding back a gag, I slammed the door shut, stumbling as I began to trip on something behind me.

"Watch it." Daryl grumbled, his hand fast on my shoulder.

"Don't sneak up on me then." I snapped, not liking that he'd been able to hear him approach me. "Fucking ninja or some shit…"

"What are you even doing in here?" He ignored my comment, looking at the state of the room we were in. "Ain't much you can bring back."

"Looking for some water, maybe something non-perishable to eat." I admitted, "It's hot as balls out and I finished my canteen."

I skirted around him, finding the walk-in that lead to the freezer. Pulling the door open, I pulled my shirt over my face to block out the putrid produce, and curdled dairy that smelled even. Not even bothering with that stuff, I checked the freezer, feeling if the seal was still intact. When the air hissed slightly, I smiled.

"Hey," I called out to the still open door, waiting for Daryl to get into view. "There might be something in here."

"Anything still good?" He looked at the stuff around me with a wrinkled nose. "Or is it all like this?"

"I don't know, but how'd you like a reprieve from the heat?" I pulled the door, taking in the cold air with a sight. "Because that alone feels fantastic."

He snorted lightly, coming to the door before I went in, shaking his head at my giddiness. I turned the light on and stepped in, looking through the shelves for anything we could take. Unfortunately, it was mostly racked meat, and frozen bread. I pushed a large pig to the side and let out a gasp that stung with the air around me. Even if there was something in here for us, I couldn't trust it anymore.

"What is it?" Daryl popped up behind me, his crossbow prepped.

"Look." I pointed to the small huddle of frozen corpses, all clinging to each other as they slowly got colder. "They must have been hiding in here…and got blocked in or something…"

We both looked at the meat around them and the layers they were wearing; they'd clearly bundled to hide in there, but why were they still in here? Daryl dropped his stance, clearing his throat awkwardly. I looked over at him, still in shock from things even months later.

"Come on… let's see if they figured anything out." He tilted his head back towards exit. "Place is giving me the creeps anyway."

I nodded, following him out. When we reached the door, I noticed a case of waters at the threshold, and grabbed an armload. We made our way back in silence, Rick calling our names. Hurrying back to the window, they looked at us in confusion. Instead of being asked, I tossed a bottle to T-Dog, the bottle nearly slipping from my fingers with the quickly growing condensation.

"Didn't need anyone passing out on us." I shrugged, handing one to Daryl. "Just didn't realize I was followed."

Rick looked at my company, his face softening slightly despite all the agitation. "Good thing he did, who knows what's around right now."

"Unless some freezer burnt kitchen staff were gonna attack me, I was fine." I said, rolling my eyes. "Did you guys figure out which way the guns were?"

"Yeah, we just need a plan." He filled me in, taking the offered water. "I didn't exactly drop them in an easy place."

"I think I have one." Glenn said, tipping his own water to the side as he thought. "But I need some space to visualize it."

"What are we doing here then, Baseball?" I teased, motioning for him to lead the way. "Let's find a drawing board."

We all followed Glenn silently, the only sound the crinkling of the bottles as we all hydrated. Once we got to an office, the younger man went to work, pushing a desk away slightly and grabbing supplies as he laid them out on the floor. Grabbing a dry erase marker, he started to draw on the tiles, making a small grid, circling where we were. Slowly a mini map of the a block came into view, and Glenn started to talk, not showing just yet.

"Okay, so in order for this to work, I need you guys to trust me." We all nodded, "So, with you all keeping guard, I'll go in-"

"No dice, kid." I stated, shutting down the idea instantly.

Rick nodded. "You're not doing this alone."

"Even I think it's a bad idea." Daryl spoke up, looking over at him while T-Dog sat down against a desk. "And I don't even like you much."

"it's a good idea, if you just hear me out." Glenn insisted, pointing around us. "If we go out there in a group, we're slow."

"Right and at least there's safety in numbers." I said, sighing as I was met with an even look. "Sorry, fine: go on.

"Yeah, but it also draws attention. If I'm alone, I can move fast." He takes a binder clip and puts it at an intersection. "Look. That's the tank, five blocks from where we are now."

I thought of where we were and where they said the guns were, it was a pretty big crossing over there, especially if a tank could fit over there. He would be a sitting duck in there. Glenn continued, though, unaffected, mentioning where he wanted people, saying Daryl would be with him, since he had a quieter weapon. When Rick asked about back-up, he motioned to a couple of streets in the opposite direction explaining about if he had to take an alternate route. All in all, it was impressive strategy, he had everything planned out for the most part. I nodded, crouching next to where Daryl was leaning against a desk.

Before any of us could say it, he spoke. "Hey kid, what'd you do before all this?"

"Not gonna lie, I was wondering that myself…" I mused, my finger tracing over the plan silently before looking up at him. "It's a pretty descent plan."

"Delivered pizzas." Glenn shrugged, looking at the looks we were all sharing. "Why?"

"Well, if that's the kind of battle plan a pizza boy can come up with, I want more of you." I laughed, standing back up. "Okay, so we're all doubled up? Me and Daryl on one side, Rick and T-Dog on the other?"

He nodded, "Most of these buildings are linked, so we can stay out of sight until we drop into our alleys. Shouldn't be a problem, quick grab and go, then we get back here, look for Merle."

We all nodded and went back towards the roof. The sun beat down harder on us, making me glad I grabbed the water, the cold bottle held against the back of my neck as we moved quietly. Daryl took point again, with Glenn giving directions, but I stayed back, grabbing Rick. He looked at me, worry lighting his eyes briefly until I shook my head at him.

"I'm fine, just…" I took a couple of breaths, pointing around me. "Just the heat."

"Well, good thinking, finding that water." He said, nodding towards the one in my hand. "We all got a little tunnel vision with everything."

"Yeah…" I agreed, looking to the others. "I wanted to thank you though…for listening, he seems more willing to work with us now that he knows we want to help."

"Well, should have done something sooner, saved us all a bit of hot air." He shrugged, motioning for us to keep moving.

"I'll blame it on the overbearing amount of testosterone around us." I dismissed, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. "Good thing I came along. Besides, tell me about how you got here."

He nodded, and we spend the rest of the walk sharing our stories, starting from when he got shot to when Daryl and I showed up in the woods. I told him how I was able to grab a few guns and ammo from the cage, and how I had a couple silencers, which had Glenn say something about maybe having me peak out of the alley a little then, or follow behind him. In the end, we split up, Rick and T-Dog stopping before us so they could head down. Upon reaching the ladder, I went down first, Glen and Daryl waiting before following behind.

As soon as I dropped, I pulled my gun out, sweeping down the alley. After staying it's clear, they made their way down, all us gathering at the dumpsters at the end of the street, Glenn dropping his bag and taking off his flannel.

"Okay, Savannah," He pointed behind the car that was right after the gate. "You can watch from there, and Daryl can stay in the alley, covering you as you cover me."

"Roger that, Short Round." I said, moving forward as Daryl loaded his Crossbow.

"She's right." He grunted, "You got some balls for a Chinaman."

I winced as Glenn scoffed. "I'm Korean."

"My bad…" I muttered, as Daryl said "Whatever."

As Glenn got closer to me, I added, "To be fair I'm just running with nicknames from your attire and weapon…seemed to be a thing we had going."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever cop girl." He muttered, waiting for a couple of the walkers to get past us. "Just pay attention and don't let me get eaten."

I nodded, setting myself against the passenger rear corner of the car, ducking if anything got close. At first Glenn was doing fine, stopping when it got dicey, and diving past the sandbags at the tank. A couple had noticed him, and aside from one or two that I shot down, none of them caught on that he was living. There was a slight scuffle in the alley, and I heard Daryl talking to someone, but I kept my eyes on Glenn, slowly moving back toward the alley. Suddenly, there were shouts of 'ayudame' coming from over there, and two figures turned to where I was. Realizing they were people, I dropped my gun, swearing to myself as I tried to beat them to Daryl.

Unfortunately, one of them was faster with their lead pipe, pulling me into the alleyway before knocking me against the wall, shouts muffled around me as I was dazed. I felt someone go to help me, but we were both knocked over, and hit a couple more times. Trying to blink away the stars I was seeing, my vision cleared just in time to see Daryl pull the gate closed in front of us, the walkers pressing on it to get to us.

"Daryl what the-" I grunted, pulling myself up with the help of the wall. "Where's Glenn?"

"His little friends went and took him!" He yelled, stalking toward the teenager that was must have been the source of the yelling. Before he could do more than shove him against the wall, Rick and T-Dog appeared.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Rick said, pushing Daryl away as T-Dog secured the teen. "Stop it."

"I'm gonna kick your nuts up in your throat!" Daryl seethed, causing fear to flash in the kid's eyes.

"Let me go." He said, trying to push T-Dog off him.

I watched as Daryl filled them in on what happened, more threats leaving his throat as his anger rose. My eyes never left the kid, as my mind cleared up from the hit, and I was able to stand properly. He looked familiar, but I couldn't figure out why. Walking over to help T-Dog with him, the boy's eyes widened, letting out a string of swears in both English and Spanish.

"Aw come on!" He said, jutting his chin towards me. "Even at the end of the world, huh? Just can't stop harassing us. Fucking bullshit."

"The hell are you pla-" I stopped, grabbing his shoulder to take him in. Then it clicked, "Miguel?"

"Sup, detective." He smirked, all attitude now that we recognized each other. "What did you miss the good ol' days back at narcotics? Had to return to finally put us down?"

"What's he talking about?" T-Dog said, pushing him forward as Daryl and Rick caught up with us. "You know this brat?"

"Yeah, tried to make him a CI." I said, rubbing at the ache that was forming in my forehead. "He's a new kid, a jump in for the Vatos."

"You worked with gangs?" Rick said, everyone looking at me curiously. "I thought you were homicide."

"Wasn't an opening, so I took narcotics for a while, kept having to pull these guys in." I sighed, pointing towards the door, "Let's get him inside and we'll talk more."

They all nodded, following me as I kicked open the door, and made my way back to the lab we were in before, cursing my dumb luck since joining other people.

Rick leaned forward looking Miguel in the eye, we'd made it back, and T-Dog grabbed an icepack from the freezer for me, which I held to my head while the interrogation happened. He didn't want me anywhere near the kid, too afraid of our history, or the kid saying something that would get on my nerves.

"Those men you were with," Rick, ever the good cop, was calm, leveling with his subject. "We need to know where they went."

"I ain't telling you nothing." He scoffed, leaning back in the chair before sending me a smirk. "It's Walshy's favorite thing to hear from me."

"Cállate mocoso." I warned, calling him out, "Since I'm guessing it was your cousin Felipe that jumped me, I'd watch yourself."

"Jesus man," T groaned, leaning against the desk behind me. "What the hell happened back there?"

"I told you." Daryl insisted, pointing back to Miguel. "This little turd and his douchebag came out of nowhere with 'vannah in tow and jumped us."

"They only had me because I heard him yelling." I said, filling in my part of the story. "I was trying to beat them over."

"You're the one who jumped me, Puto." Miguel spat, glaring at Daryl. "Screaming about trying to find his brother like it's my damn fault."

"Stow the 'Tude, Miguel." I snapped, fed up with his bravado. "There was nobody in that Alley when we showed up, then suddenly there was you."

"They took Glenn." Daryl added. "Could have taken Merle too."

"Merle?" Miguel chuckled, an evil glint in his eye. "What kind of hick name is that? I wouldn't name my _dog_ Merle."

Daryl growled, moving to stomp on his lap, but Rick pulled him away, me moving to calm him.

"Damn it, Daryl." He grits out, practically throwing the hunter at me. "Back off."

I caught him with a slight falter, feeling the anger from him and myself. I went to say something, but felt a small smile break loose. When Daryl looked at me as if I was making fun of him, I shook my head, nodding my head to my open backpack, the blue bandana just barely sticking out.

"I know I'm supposed to be the other good cop." I muttered, "But this kid has been giving me problems since before the end of the world. Maybe I'll let you play bad cop."

Daryl rubbed at his face, skirting Rick, and digging through my bag. Unwrapping the hand, he dropped the cloth to the floor, holding it by the pinky, he spoke up.

"Want to see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?"

When Miguel just glared at him, he dropped the hand into his lap. The kid freaked, jumping out of his seat, and stumbling to the floor with a yelp. Daryl didn't stop there and grabbed him by the front of his wife-beater, the gold chain slipping under it. "Start with the feet this time."

Rick looked at me, and while I was amused, I nodded, reluctantly helping him pull Daryl back. Miguel was looking at us with genuine fear in his eyes, all bravado gone. Rick leaned down to address him again, sighing as if he regretted much more than this sideways mission.

"The men you were with took our friend." He explained. "All we want to do is talk to them, see if we can work something out."

"Estan locos!" He cried, "You're crazy. Trying to take my feet or some shit."

"Just tell us where they are, Miguel." I said, crossing my arms. "This is the kinda thing I was warning you about when I told you not everyone is as patient as me."

"What kinda cops are you?" He said. "World ends and all your rules mean jack?"

"Hey," Rick looked at him, leveling his gaze. "I'm not going to let them hurt you. Just, please, tell us where they took our friend."

Miguel looked at each of us, his eyes briefly pleading with T-Dog as if he thought he'd find a brother in arms, but when he found no sympathy. He finally told us where to go. Told us there were about ten men or so, and that they wouldn't take kindly to us coming to the front door.

"Good thing we found you, then huh Mocoso?" I said, pulling him up roughly. "Our own little Vatos door opener."

We went down the street to an old mill yard, the location not sitting right with me. Rick took a gun from the bag, handing T-Dog a sniper rifle. I sighed, pacing back and forth before pulling my gun out. It was quiet, almost too quiet. No sound of Glenn, or the Vato that Daryl had apparently shot in the ass with the crossbow. I shook my head, and only ten guys? Something wasn't right, something wasn't adding up.

"What?" Rick said, noticing the nervous energy I was radiating. "Sav, what's wrong?"

"I know this group…they're more of them then they're saying." I said, chewing my lip. "I'm gonna circle with T, see if I can find a back door or something. I don't feel right."

"Is this because the kid got to you?" We both looked over at where Miguel sat with the other two. "I've never seen you get like that."

"I was trying to help him, but his family spun yards about me in his ear." I shrugged. "He never saw past his loyalty, but he's a bright kid, used to be one of those little kids that would ask a million questions of anyone with a badge. Just aggravates me that he's throwing it all away, especially with the world the way it is now."

He nodded, rubbing at his scruff. "You say you know them; you've got the jurisdiction here. Follow your gut."

"Okay, don't tell Miguel where I'm going." I said, nodding to the group. "Just say I'm staying back with the guns or something."

Rick nodded, and I went off, moving ahead of T-dog as we both went into our positions. When he went up, I went low, looking for a side entrance. When I did, I slipped through, finding myself in a garage. While this wasn't exactly far off the mark, it looked like they had set up shop in there. It wasn't established by any means, and there was nobody around. Picking my way through, I saw a group of them at the door, small, like Miguel said. I turned back, moving to the back room. I reached the stairs when I saw two more men pulling someone between them. The figure had a bag on their head, but I had no doubt in my mind that it was Glenn.

I followed them up, slowly, cursing when my foot crunched on a sheet of rust, making one of them turn around. I gave out a warning shot, barely skimming the guy's arm, but he was fast, jumping down to push me into the wall. I hissed, dropping my gun on the floor as his sweaty hand twisting my wrists together behind my back. I gave him issues going up the stairs, but hearing Glenn's frantic breathing I stopped. They kept leading, keeping us in the middle.

"Glenn," I whispered, bumping my shoulder into his. "Glenn are you okay?"

"Savannah?" His voice was panicked, as he tried to look at me. "Is that you?"

"Didn't think we were going to ditch you, did we?" I laughed, wincing when the guard twisted my arms. "I just wish I had a plan like yours when I decided to scope ahead."

"Cállate Pute, before I give you reason to." The guy holding me snarled, stopping any conversation we had as we were led out onto the roof.

"I don't take kindly to be held hostage." I stated, blinking away the sunlight. "But, since I'm feeling generous I won't spit in your gunshot wound."

Glenn groaned, and I could almost _hear_ his eye roll and the unsaid, 'oh geeze'. I was pushed to the ground then, my friend joining me straight after as they looked down for some kind of signal. My guess? They were going to try and threaten our lives for the guns. From what I saw down there, they weren't particularly strapped and that was the only other reason they would have been near the tank. They must have thought the guns were up for grabs and went to get them, too bad we got in the way. We weren't on the floor long before they pulled us up, standing us at the edge of the building and ripping Glenn's mask off.

I looked forward, refusing to let them use me as bait. Now that they had two of us, they were probably going to try getting the guns as well. I shook my head at my own stupidity. I watched as our group retreated to figure out what they were going to do. We were yanked back, the men pushing us forward and telling us to go down the stairs, all aggression gone. I rubbed my wrists, looking to Glenn in confusion.

"That's it?" I whispered. "This doesn't seem like regular Vato behavior…Something's up."

"Well, now that you've failed to rescue me, Thanks for that by the way." Glenn said, leading the way downstairs, "You'll see why it's a little more complicated than that."


End file.
